How Ocean's 8's Costume Designer Pulled Off This Year's Most Fashionable Heist

At the heart of Ocean’s 8, the new all-female reboot of the star-studded heist film franchise, is a fashion world scam with outrageously high stakes. Leaving prison after a five-year stint for fraud, Debbie Ocean (played by Sandra Bullock) swaps her regulation orange jumpsuit for a sequined evening dress, then gets to work planning a con that will see her and her gang of criminals steal a multi-million-dollar Cartier diamond necklace from an unsuspecting starlet (played by Anne Hathaway) at the most exclusive event in any A-lister’s calendar: the Met Gala. If this sounds difficult, spare a thought for costume designer Sarah Edwards, who was tasked not only with dressing eight leading ladies (an anomalous scenario in the film industry), but with recreating the most exclusive party of the year, complete with one-off designer gowns, celebrity cameos and, yes, Anna Wintour. So, how did she pull it off?

First, it was a case of carving out a clear fashion identity for each of the film’s eight protagonists: Sandra Bullock’s Debbie, Cate Blanchett’s nightclub owner Lou, bored soccer mom Tammy (Sarah Paulson), diamond expert Amita (Mindy Kaling), washed-up fashion designer Rose (Helena Bonham Carter), sleight-of-hand trickster Constance (Awkwafina), actress Daphne (Hathaway) and scene-stealing hacker Nine Ball, played by real-life Met Gala queen Rihanna. ‘It’s so important in a heist movie that you can follow each character and know immediately which one is which – especially with so many stars,’ Edwards explains. ‘It was really important that they didn’t cross into each other’s style.’

This meant that her daily meetings with the actresses – which, as she’d go from room to room to check in with each, became jokingly referred to as ‘hospital rounds’ – required her to constantly check off each character’s wardrobe against the others’ in her mental inventory, no mean feat when Sandra Bullock had 65 costume changes, and Cate Blanchett 40-odd. ‘If one of them would say, “Oh, can I have a leopard print coat?” I had to say, “No sorry, Cate’s already had that!” she laughs. The actresses’ camaraderie, however, made a potentially difficult job much easier. ‘They were all really great about understanding that I had eight leading ladies to costume,’ the designer says. ‘They really were a team with each other. If I was with Sandy and Cate needed something, she immediately understood that I had to step away; if I was with Cate and then Mindy had something going on, it’d be the same, and so on.’

Debbie, Sandra’s character, is the younger sister of Danny Ocean, the protagonist of the most recent Ocean’s trilogy played by George Clooney. When Edwards looked back at these films to ‘get a feel for the tone,’ she decided to bring a little of Danny’s ‘cool sophistication’ to Debbie, especially in the film’s opening scene, where she leaves jail in a beaded evening gown. ‘That was a very deliberate choice; to echo [Danny] coming out of prison in the tuxedo [in Ocean’s 11],’ the designer reveals. ‘She couldn’t come out of prison in jeans and a t-shirt: we had to start off with a bang.’ Throughout the film, Debbie sticks to darker colours and simple, fluid shapes in luxe fabrics, a deliberate choice from Edwards, who ‘wanted her to be very sleek, polished and minimal, so she could be stylish but move effortlessly, somewhat under the radar but very glamorous.’ Much has already been made online of Cate Blanchett’s character’s rock and roll, androgynous style, inspired by old photos of rock stars and music industry types. ‘There’s a picture of Keith Richards from the early ‘70s in a three-piece suit that Cate and I really loved,’ the designer says. ‘We used that picture when we collaborated with Burberry on making her suit.’

It’d be near impossible to pull off a sartorial feat like Ocean’s 8 without the help of the fashion industry, and Burberry wasn’t the only label to get involved. The team at US Vogue, who were indispensable in fact-checking the film’s fictional Met Gala, also helped make introductions to some of the designers who eventually came on board, though the final call was with Edwards. ‘We reached out to a very short list of people,’ she recalls. ‘They had weeks to make these gowns, when often they have a year to do something like that for the Met Gala. It was a really big ask, and some designers weren’t able to commit to the time constraints.’

Luckily, the actresses themselves were often well-placed to pull in a few favours behind the scenes. ‘There were designers who already had relationships with our girls, and were jumping through hoops to make it happen,’ she adds. Givenchy provided a sequined jumpsuit from their archive for Cate Blanchett’s Met moment, while Valentino outfitted Anne Hathaway (just as they have done for numerous real life Met Galas). Given that the film’s plot hinges upon the jaw-dropping Cartier necklace worn by Hathaway’s character, her gown had to showcase that, making Valentino’s brief the most complex. ‘Valentino was really patient as they had a lot to work with story-wise,’ Edwards explains. ‘They couldn’t do a high neck; the front had to be incredibly simple for the huge piece of jewellery, so we had all the drama in the back with the train. We were asking for something so specific, and we were incredibly grateful that they were able to do it in time, and that the result was incredibly beautiful.’

Once each of the eight protagonists had their Gala outfit, it was time for Edwards to oversee the styling of the hundreds of extras that populated the film’s gala, including some very high-profile celebrity cameos - think Serena Williams, Gigi Hadid, Katie Holmes and a full complement of Kardashian-Jenners, Kim, Kylie and Kendall. ‘A lot of those cameos were people with very busy schedules – a commitment would often happen very last minute,’ she explains. Though she and her team came armed with rails of designer gowns (sourced with the help of fashion PR agency KCD) in which to dress the extras, in some cases it wasn’t logistically possible to pre-plan their outfits. ‘If they had lines, if they were able to commit far enough in advance, we dressed them, but if not, they’d arrive in their own clothes. We’d meet with them and try and help them out in any way possible.’ While Heidi Klum was dressed head to toe by Edwards’ team, but Kim Kardashian West rocked up in her own (sheer) Givenchy gown. Gala scene aside, the film has another Very Important Cameo appearance: US Vogue’s Anna Wintour. So, did Edwards get to style the world’s most famous – and most formidable – editor-in-chief? ‘She came in her own clothes. I would not presume to dress Anna Wintour!’

Ocean’s 8 releases in UK cinemas on 18th June

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Warner Bros

Ocean's 8

The prospect of a gender-flipped re-boot doesn't always fill us with anticipation, but that's not the case with Ocean's 8, which has managed to cast - deep breath - Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett, Helena Bonham Carter, Sarah Paulson, Mindy Kaling, rapper and comedian Awkwafina and Rihanna as a gang of con artists orchestrating a jewel heist at the Met Gala (Anne Hathaway plays their target). Given the star power involved, here's hoping they pull it off…Summer

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Warner Bros

Ocean's 8

The prospect of a gender-flipped re-boot doesn't always fill us with anticipation, but that's not the case with Ocean's 8, which has managed to cast - deep breath - Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett, Helena Bonham Carter, Sarah Paulson, Mindy Kaling, rapper and comedian Awkwafina and Rihanna as a gang of con artists orchestrating a jewel heist at the Met Gala (Anne Hathaway plays their target). Given the star power involved, here's hoping they pull it off…Summer

On Chesil Beach

Having earned her first Oscar nomination (aged just 13) for Atonement a decade ago, Saoirse Ronan returns for another Ian McEwan book-to-film adaptation (this one with a script by McEwan himself). Based on the Booker-nominated novella and set in 1962 (the year before sex 'began,' as Philip Larkin would put it in Annus Mirabilis) On Chesil Beach follows a newly married couple on their honeymoon, tentatively preparing to navigate the physical and emotional awkwardness of their first night together. Billy Howle stars opposite Ronan, alongside Emily Watson and Anne-Marie Duff.15th June

Thoroughbreds

Playing out like a millennial Cruel Intentions with darker laughs and an even darker ending, Thoroughbreds is as poised and fast-paced as its title would suggest. Anya Taylor-Joy and Olivia Cooke make a compellingly twisted duo as Lily and Amanda, two privileged Connecticut teens who'd drifted apart until the latter's mum bribes the former to assist her daughter with SAT prep. Type-A Lily soon becomes fascinated by Amanda – and by whispered rumours about her pet horse's grim fate, too – and recruits her into an increasingly sinister campaign against her hateful stepfather.9th March

Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again!

Everyone's favourite guilty pleasure musical (OK, my favourite guilty pleasure musical) is back for a sequel that's also a prequel: Lily James plays the twenty-something iteration of Meryl Streep's Donna, who's torn between younger versions of the three love interests we met in the first film. As the story jumps from past to present, the old gang of Amanda Seyfried, Dominic Cooper, Colin Firth et al is back, but a question mark hangs over Donna's fate – luckily, Cher has been drafted in for a cameo to distract from her absence. The question that no one's asking, though, is how have the producers eked out a sequel when the first film tore through almost every song on ABBA: Gold? 20th July

Disney

Mary Poppins Returns

53 years after Mary Poppins floated into the London sky, umbrella in hand, Emily Blunt will take on Julie Andrews' iconic role in an all-singing, all-dancing sequel – and as far as re-castings go, this one appears to be practically perfect in every way. Set in 1930s London, Mary Poppins Returns picks up with Jane and Michael Banks (played by Emily Mortimer and Ben Whishaw) as adults with children of their own. Meryl Streep, Colin Firth, Angela Lansbury, Julie Walters and Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda (who's also worked on the musical numbers) round out an all-star cast.25th December

Getty

First Man

Ryan Gosling re-teams with La La Land director Damien Chazelle for a new biopic that's stratospheres away from his love letter to old Hollywood musicals. First Man follows Neil Armstrong (Gosling) as he prepares to make the first landing on the Moon. The Crown's Claire Foy joins him as Janet, Armstrong's wife, in what will doubtless be her most awards-friendly role since taking on Queen Elizabeth II. Chazelle's film, which he's previously described as 'a mission movie' over a straightforward biopic, has been in development since 2014, and features a script by Josh Singer, who wrote 2016's Best Picture winner Spotlight.

eOne

The Post

Meryl Streep, Tom Hanks, Steven Spielberg and the Pentagon Papers leak: everything about The Post implies guaranteed success come awards season. Its subject matter, too, couldn't feel more timely. Streep plays Washington Post publisher Katherine Graham, the lone woman in the editorial boys' club, as she grapples with the ethical implications of her paper publishing (or not publishing) a classified report which reveals how successive US governments had stepped up the conflict in Vietnam. In other words, it's about holding those in power to account. A must-watch.19th January

Marvel

Black Panther

It doesn't arrive in cinemas until next month, but Black Panther – the first standalone movie in Marvel's extensive stable to be fronted by a black superhero – is already setting records, beating Captain America: Civil War to become the studio's most pre-ordered film in the 24 hours after tickets became available. As T'Challa, the hero of the title, Chadwick Boseman heads up a cast that features Angela Bassett, Lupita Nyong'o, Michael B. Jordan and Get Out's Daniel Kaluuya. Here's to a future where Marvel movies don't exclusively star white guys named Chris…12th February

Warner Bros

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindelwald

After 2016's inaugural Potter spin-off Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them comes the second in a planned five-part series, bearing the ever-so-slightly cumbersome title The Crimes of Grindelwald. Plot details have, of course, been kept largely under wraps, but we can expect to see Eddie Redmayne's Newt Scamander teaming up with Jude Law's Young Dumbledore to take down the dark wizard of the title. Johnny Depp's casting has (rightly) proved controversial: can the producers' decision to stand by the star in the wake of domestic abuse allegations stand up in the Times Up era?16th November

Disney

A Wrinkle In Time

Madeleine L'Engle's fantasy epic isn't widely read this side of the Atlantic, but it's a beloved childhood favourite for many US readers. Now, the novel is getting the Disney blockbuster treatment with Ava DuVernay, the woman behind Selma and last year's The 13th, on directing duties. Joining her to tell the story of Meg (played by 14-year-old Storm Reid), a young girl who travels through space and time in search of her missing scientist father are Reese Witherspoon, Oprah Winfrey, Mindy Kaling and Chris Pine.

9th March

Solo: A Star Wars Story

Fashioning a back story for one of the most iconic screen characters of all time is no small task, and for a moment, it seemed like the latest addition to the Star Wars spin-off universe would end up trapped in development hell: the film's two directors, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller parted with Disney due to the classic 'creative differences' halfway through production, with Ron Howard drafted in at last minute to wrap things up. All this behind-the-scenes drama only serves to make Solo: A Star Wars Story the more intriguing. Set to mark a tonal shift from past installments (it's been billed as having a comedy-meets-western feel, whatever that means), it'll see Alden Ehrenreich stepping into Harrison Ford's shoes, with Donald Glover as Lando Calrissian and Emilia Clarke, Woody Harrelson, Thandie Newton and Phoebe Waller-Bridge in as-yet-undisclosed roles.25th May

Isle Of Dogs

And for Wes Anderson's follow-up to The Grand Budapest Hotel, aka the first harbinger of millennial pink? A stop-motion animation in the vein of his Fantastic Mr Fox, Isle of Dogs is set in a dystopian Japan in which dogs have been confined to a garbage-strewn island after an outbreak of canine flu. This being a Wes Anderson movie, the likes of Scarlett Johansson, Tilda Swinton, Edward Norton, Bryan Cranston and Jeff Goldblum are among those voicing the menagerie of canine characters.30th March

Phantom Thread

Daniel Day Lewis' last role (or so he says – the three-time Oscar winner has a habit of announcing a career break then making a suitably dramatic return) sees him play a twisted 1950s couturier in Phantom Thread. So far, the film, directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, has garnered five star reviews across the board and a clutch of awards nominations, too, while the dreamy New Look-style ball gowns are worthy of a real-life runway.2nd February

I, Tonya

They say the truth is stranger than fiction: that seems, at least, to be entirely correct when it comes to the curious case of Olympic figure skater Tonya Harding, who fell from grace when she became implicated in a brutal attack on Nancy Kerrigan, her team mate and rival. To play Tonya (and to play against her superlative looks), Margot Robbie was transformed with layer upon layer of prosthetics. A classic awards tactic, yes, but one that's apparently paid off: her performance has so far earned nominations from both the Golden Globes and the BAFTAs.16th February

Red Sparrow

Jennifer Lawrence goes full femme fatale in Red Sparrow, playing a Russian ballerina who's forcibly recruited by the secret service. Once she has been trained up as a super-spy, she begins to question her loyalties when she embarks upon a relationship with a CIA agent. Based on that synopsis, we're expecting glossy, high octane thrills, with J. Law back in quasi-superheroine mode after a post-Hunger Games and X-Men lull. Charlotte Rampling, Joel Edgerton and Matthias Schoenaerts also star. 2nd March

The Shape Of Water

If you were enchanted by the dark dreamscape of Pan's Labryinth, Guillermo del Toro's fantastical Spanish Civil War allegory, prepare to get excited for The Shape of Water, a 60s-set love story that's also a B-movie thriller. Sally Hawkins is expected to pick up an Oscar nomination for her performance as a mute cleaning lady who's captivated by a fish-man hybrid held in the high-security lab where she works. A touching romance that's far from the Hollywood norm unfolds, and like many of this year's awards hopefuls, it's not hard to read between the lines to infer a timely message, one of tolerance and acceptance.

14th February

Molly's Game

If you haven't already caught Molly's Game, the directorial debut from West Wing screenwriter Aaron Sorkin, may we kindly recommend that you do so, ASAP? Flawlessly delivering Sorkin's trademark mile-a-minute dialogue, Jessica Chastain gives an electrifying, can't-take-your-eyes-off-the-screen performance as Molly Bloom, the former Olympic skier who became the host of an underground Hollywood poker game which eventually counted A-listers and billionaires among its players. Out now

Mary, Queen of Scots

Saoirse Ronan stars as the ill-fated Mary Stuart, the Scottish queen who became embroiled in intrigue when she made a play for the British throne, in this first screen effort from Josie Rourke, the departing Donmar Warehouse creative director. It also marks Margot Robbie's second film make-under of the year, decked out in ashy white make-up and a flaming red wig to play Elizabeth I, Mary's cousin and rival. The likes of David Tennant, Guy Pearce and Joe Alwyn also star.November

Annihilation

From the director of Ex Machina, Alex Garland, comes Annihilation, a sci-fi-horror-thriller mash-up that promises to be just as cerebral and troubling as its predecessor. Based on the novel by US writer Jeff VanderMeer, it'll star Natalie Portman as a biologist who joins an all-female expeditionary group (featuring Jennifer Jason Leigh, Gina Rodriguez and Tessa Thompson) venturing into an environmental disaster zone. If new reports prove correct, it's set to sidestep a cinema release in the UK, instead dropping onto our Netflix dashboards this spring. Spring

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

A pitch-black tragicomedy from the writer of In Bruges, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri sees Frances McDormand as a grieving mother burning with righteous anger: after local police are no closer to catching her daughter's killer one year on from the murder, she rents a trio of billboards in an attempt to shame them out of their stupor. While the film has already proved critically divisive (with its problems centring around the racist cop played by Sam Rockwell), McDormand's blistering foul-mouthed performance is certainly worth your attention.

Out now

Lady Bird

As far as concepts go, Greta Gerwig directing Saoirse Ronan in a coming-of-age story set in early Noughties California might sound too good to be true, but that's Lady Bird's exact premise. Having already proved a major hit with US cinemagoers and critics (landing – for a time – the coveted 100 percent rating on review aggregate Rotten Tomatoes), it'll finally arrive on UK screens in the thick of awards season in February. Manchester By The Sea's Lucas Hedges and Call Me By Your Name's Timothée Chalamet pop up as the self-nicknamed 'Lady Bird's love interests, while Laurie Metcalf is generating Oscar buzz with her nuanced performance as the title character's mother.16th February